GREENVILLE Blog

How To Add Insulation To An Existing Greenville Area Home

If you've never had the insulation in your home updated, you may be worried about potential mess or impact on your walls and floors. With the right team and equipment, Koala Insulation of Greenville reduces the risk in your space that could be left behind by an inexperienced installer.

4 Steps To Take When Safely Adding Insulation To Your Home

Step 1: Schedule An Evaluation

In order to find the most cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions, you need to schedule a thorough inspection of your home's insulation and air sealing. While some experienced homeowners have a basic understanding of their building’s R-value needs, this provides the opportunity to check for deterioration.

This isn't a DIY project that's easy for individuals without the necessary experience. Instead, scheduling a free evaluation with Koala Insulation of Greenville provides you with a detailed breakdown of the current condition of your home's materials.

As local experts, we use industry practices such as thermal imaging to determine if the space has damaged, deteriorated, or poorly installed materials. After taking a closer look at the results of your free evaluation, you and your household can develop a plan to target problematic areas. Once you determine what should be replaced or where new material can provide better coverage, you're ready for the next step.

Step 2: Choose Your Insulation Material

There are several different types of insulation and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all-areas solution to covering your home. Each material has a variety of benefits that contribute to your home’s well-being when added to the right places. Most homeowners are familiar with insulation like fiberglass or mineral wool, but cellulose and spray foam are also commonly used in residential buildings.

You’re likely aware that insulation improves temperature regulation and air sealing. However, did you know every home in South Carolina has different needs? These are impacted by everything from the Grenville area’s climate zone to the regular habits of a household.

The Problem Of Reinstalling Material

Without consulting local professionals for expert advice, some homeowners make the mistake of simply reinstalling the same kind of insulation they’re having removed. This habit doesn’t take the opportunity to consider what a different type of material can improve within their environment.

For example, you may currently have fiberglass batts installed in between ceiling joists that were installed before you purchased your home. After an evaluation with Koala Insulation of Greenville, our team may find that a material like closed-cell spray foam can be a more effective replacement. This type of material is a strong vapor barrier with a higher R-value at R-6.9 per inch of depth compared to an average of R-3.4 for fiberglass batters.  When you research the needs of your home and consult local experts, your choices can start helping you save significantly more on energy bills.

Step 3: Adding Insulation To The Attic

If you have an attic space that’s mostly used for storage and rarely visited, you may be vaguely familiar with the materials that can be found on the floor and in between ceiling joists. Unfortunately, this space often falls “out of sight, out of mind”, which means you could be missing crucial warning signs that the material is deteriorated or damaged.

If the insulation along the floor gets affected by water, pests, or other issues, your expert team typically vacuums the areas that are impacted. Koala Insulation of Greenville can then add new blown-in or loose-fill material to return the R-value back to the necessary depth per inch.

Meanwhile, batts and spray foam are more commonly found on the ceiling and walls. Batts are typically easier to remove as they just need to be pulled out from between the joists; replacements are cut and reshaped to be installed, ensuring a tight fit. Spray foam needs to be reapplied by certified technicians since the chemicals need to be properly mixed and applied with industry-certified equipment. If the spray foam needs to be removed, a scraping tool helps take off damaged or improperly installed materials. To reduce damage to the surface underneath, an experienced individual should handle this.

Step 4: Installing Material In The Basement

The process of removing and adding insulation in the basement or crawl spaces of your home is similar to the practices for your attic. The biggest difference is that you won't find insulation surrounding your feet.

While you’ll find insulation installed in between the beams of the walls, you should also see material tucked in under the floor of the upper level. As the space is evaluated, your insulation team takes into consideration any exposed wiring, pipes, and beams before applying batts or spray foam. We also prioritize air sealing in the Greenville area to focus on reducing air leaks and moisture that seeps in from the ground.

On average, around 10% of heat is lost from underinsulated floors, making underinsulated crawl spaces a problematic area in many homes. Removing and reinstalling material in between floor joists or around pipes can be tricky, especially depending on your home’s access points. However, regularly maintaining this space is a crucial routine to ensure you have an effective vapor barrier that can prevent ice-cold floors and mold growth.

Step 5: Filling Out The Walls

Replacing the finished walls throughout a house is one of the last places that may make homeowners anxious about retrofitting their space. Luckily, Koala Insulation of Greenville is a team of industry professionals who have the best tips and tricks to make it look like the crew was never even there.

With the right equipment, we don’t need to remove significant areas of the drywall to remove and reinstall material. A small hole can be cut into the exterior siding or along inconspicuous corner spots to add in certain materials, like blown-in cellulose. The cut-outs are then replaced, sealed, and can be repainted if necessary to restore the area.

While adding insulation isn’t a difficult job, removing existing insulation can be a more skilled task. Part of the wall sheathing or drywall may need to be removed to gain access to the more significantly impacted insulation inside. For blown-in material, a technician can simply vacuum the loose-fill out of the wall. Batts can be pulled out while any remaining debris is vacuumed. When the process is finished, the wall sheathing can be replaced and new material is installed.

Making Quality Insulation Changes Without Damaging Your Space

There are many places in your home that need to have insulation evaluated and replaced. However, the procedure can look different for every home, depending on the construction of the house, your household’s needs, and a number of other aspects that need to be considered by a professional.

At Koala Insulation of Greenville, we prioritize solutions that are both cost-effective and energy-efficient to maximize your benefits. How can you learn more about protecting your environment while also improving comfort and savings? Contact Koala Insulation of Greenville to take the first step and schedule your free evaluation today.